- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of heat demand, for hot water and space heat, was met by heat networks in (a) 2019 (b) 2020.
Answer
The data currently held on heat networks comes from data collected by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) under the Heat Metering and Billing Regulations. Heat network operators are required to notify every 4 years. The latest data held is for 2018. Figures for 2019 and 2020 are not yet available.
The latest statistics from OPSS indicate that at the end of 2018:
- Almost 30,000 homes were connected to district or communal heating networks in Scotland
- An estimated 1.18 TWh of heat and cooling demand was supplied via heat networks.
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Clare Haughey on 10 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce a national minimum allowance for foster carers.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to continuing to work with partners to take forward the recommendations of the National Review of Care Allowances, including development of a Scottish Recommended Allowance for foster care and kinship care. This will improve consistency and transparency for looked-after children, their families and their carers across Scotland.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many Home Energy Scotland loan (a) applications and (b) offers it has handled during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how this compares to the three previous financial years.
Answer
The number of Home Energy Scotland Loan applications and offers handled during the pandemic, compared to the three previous years is:
Year | Total Applications | Total Offers |
2021-22 – to end of June | 890 | 937* |
2020-21 | 2698 | 2011 |
2019-20 | 2167 | 1757 |
2018-19 | 2511 | 1903 |
2017-18 | 2191 | 1404 |
* Loan offer numbers may exceed application numbers for a year due to overlap in processing periods ie where an application is received in March, but not offered until April.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether people who arrive from an amber list country before the 19 July 2021 (a) will be required to isolate for the full 10 days, or (b) will not be required to isolate after 19 July 2021.
Answer
We have been able to introduce a policy of exempting people from self-isolation where they arrive from an amber list countries and have been fully vaccinated as part of the UK rollout. Those who have been exempted must show evidence at the point of entering Scotland that they have received a full course of the vaccine and 14 days have passed since the final dose. The exemption from amber list country for fully vaccinated individuals only applies to self-isolation and day 8 tests, and those applicable must still follow the other rules, including taking tests prior to their departure and on or before day 2 once in Scotland.
This change applied to people coming into the country from 19 July onwards and therefore those who arrived in Scotland before then are unable to leave self-isolation until they have completed the 10 days or are otherwise exempt.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 10 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many members of Building Standards (Fire Safety) Review panels in (a) 2018 and (b) 2021 have (i) worked for organisations that carry out BS 8414 tests on behalf of commercial sponsors, and (ii) had a role in designing BS 8414.
Answer
My officials have sought confirmation on this issue from panel members. There are 25 panel members, of whom 18 have responded to date.
Of those responses:
- 1 member of the 2018 panel and 3 members of the 2020-21 panel had a role in designing BS 8414;
- 1 member of the 2018 panel and 2 members of the 2020-21 panel have worked for organisations that carry out BS 8414 tests on behalf of commercial sponsors; and
Once a full response is received I will provide an update on the above information.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has received regarding how material shortages and increased contractor prices in the construction sector are impacting householders redeeming Home Energy Scotland Loan offers.
Answer
No information has been formally received by Scottish Government regarding how much material shortages and increased contractor prices in the construction sector are impacting householders redeeming Home Energy Scotland Loan offers.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether under-18s who are returning from an amber list county after 19 July 2021 will be required to self-isolate for 10 days on their return, and to take COVID-19 tests.
Answer
We have removed the requirement for self-isolation for under 18s who are normally resident in the UK or are a dependent of those exempt having been fully vaccinated. Children aged 12-17 travelling from Amber list countries will only take day 2 test and younger children are already not required to take tests. Other children are still required to follow self-isolation and testing rules.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what powers it will devolve to local authorities to help them meet climate change targets, in response to calls made at the International Net Zero Local Leadership Summit.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to working closely with local authorities on the shared national endeavour to tackle the global climate emergency by achieving net zero emissions by 2045, recognising that local climate action is crucial to achieving our national climate ambitions.
Through the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, we have provided new powers for local authorities to introduce Low Emission Zones to improve air quality. We are also providing other forms of support to local government including the Green Growth Accelerator which will unlock £200m of investment in local authorities for emissions reduction infrastructure, and supporting local authorities to develop Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies and accompanying delivery plans.
More broadly, the joint Local Governance Review with COSLA is considering how powers and resources are shared between national and local government, to ensure that we are doing all we can to achieve our shared national outcomes.
- Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Non-Methane Volatile Organic Compounds (NMVOC) contributing to PM2.5 (particulate matter) air pollution and such emissions being outside the scope of the industrial emissions directive, what measures it is taking to (a) reduce and (b) regulate particulate matter emissions from the Scotch whisky industry.
Answer
Under the Environment Act 1995 and associated regulations all Scottish local authorities are required to regularly assess air quality in their areas against objectives for several pollutants of concern for human health, including PM2.5 particulate matter. If any objective is found to be exceeded, or at risk of being exceeded, the authority concerned is required to declare an Air Quality Management Area and produce an action plan setting out how it will address the issues identified. These action plans are agreed by both the Scottish Government and SEPA.
To date no local authority has identified an exceedance of the PM2.5 objective relating to the Scotch whisky industry. However this is kept under regular review, with all authorities required to submit an annual air quality progress report to the Scottish Government. Should the situation change in any local authority area, we would expect the necessary action to be taken.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 10 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether it is beneficial to specify in the tendering process for public procurement contracts or agreements the community benefits that will be expected to be delivered.
Answer
We believe that including relevant and proportionate community benefit requirements in public contracts is beneficial and encourages suppliers to deliver wider social benefits.
While there is room for innovation in the delivery of community benefits, our policy, as stated in the statutory guidance underpinning the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, is that requirements should be robust, relevant and proportionate so that they can be judged on objective and measurable outcomes.
In our recent policy note on measuring social impact in public procurement, we encourage public bodies to engage with communities to understand local priorities so that they can achieve targeted social outcomes through their procurement.